“Baby wearing is a fad. . . Supposedly it’s a real bonding experience.” These are some of the lines from Motrin’s new ad about moms who carry their babies in slings. Yikes! What was Motrin thinking? How many times do we have to chide marketers for their abysmal efforts at marketing to women? (We decry it frequently on this blog.) How many times do we have to remind them that women are responsible for 80% of all consumer purchases? It’s generally not a good idea to piss us off.
This commercial has been widely denounced all over the blogosphere and on Twitter. Women are ticked off at Motrin. Women who use baby carriers generally don’t consider it a fad.
If Motrin was trying to make the point that carrying your baby can cause aches and pains, they certainly could have done so without the mocking.
I’d read the articles and heard about the angry blog posts, but hadn’t seen the ad until yesterday. (Sorry, I was busy having a baby of my own!) Yesterday, Terri and I checked it out to see what all the fuss was about, thinking it had probably been overblown. Having watched it now, I can say the fuss is warranted, Motrin was stupid, it was a bad marketing move, and I’m happy to report they’ve pulled the ad.